Passengers from crippled Pa. plane arrive in Fla.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Some passengers aboard a plane whose nose gear collapsed on a Philadelphia runway have finally made it to South Florida.

Officials say US Airways Flight 1702 was heading for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday when a tire on the front landing gear blew out, forcing the pilot to abort takeoff at Philadelphia International Airport. The Airbus A320 jet was carrying 149 passengers and five crew members.

Some of those passengers boarded a new flight that landed in Fort Lauderdale early Friday.

One tells WTVJ-TV (http://bit.ly/1fDOPpU ) that the experience in Philadelphia was “quite harrowing” with people screaming and crying as the plane skidded down the runway.

Another passenger says people in the back of the plane screamed “fire, fire,” prompting others to pull open the plane’s emergency doors.